I'm a Werewolf
by PRIFHMUS
Summary: "I'm a werewolf." There was a moment of silence. "I Know."      Sirius and James find out Remus is a werewolf, and Sirius confronts him in the hospital wing.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, it is and forever will be the property of one J.K. Rowling.**

**This is my first story, I hope you enjoy.**

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><p>Sirius walked boldly into the Hospital Wing, followed by a stern and yet understanding looking Minerva McGonagall. Madam Pomfrey looked up from one of the patients she was tending in surprise; those two rarely came inside the infirmary together, let alone looking so determined. Had she known that McGonagall was escorting the young boy to his lycanthropic friend, she probably would have dropped the Skele-gro in her hands, but as it was she just placed it on the bedside table and closed the curtains, sweeping towards her newest visitors with a frown. Nothing appeared to be wrong with the normally eccentric Black heir, in fact the only thing that seemed to be wrong with him was the large amount of worry glowing in his eyes.<p>

"Ah, yes, Poppy." Minerva began, clearing her throat and shifting slightly. "Young Mr. Black here has just informed me that he has knowledge of Mr. Lupin's... Affliction."

For a moment Poppy just stared at Minerva in shock, then her eyes slid slowly back down to the boy, stern and cold. She drew herself up and looked down at him with an expression which had often left students begging to leave, even seventh years.

"Does he now?" Her voice was hard, and she saw the boy flinch slightly in response to the sound.

"He says he wishes to visit Mr. Lupin, and that he has no... Difficulties with the nature of Mr. Lupin's... Affliction."

Poppy raised her eyebrows and stared incredulously at the boy. Could it be true? Could this prank loving second-year have figured out Remus's secret, or was this some ploy to visit his supposedly ill friend. Technically, Remus was ill, but not in the sense that everyone seemed to take it. No, he was cursed, and he was currently attempting to recuperate from an especially hard moon, having lost almost half of his blood. The poor boy had nearly died on his way back to the Infirmary, but Poppy had managed to stabilize him a half-hour ago, and left the boy to sit in his private back room and drink the various potions she had left for him.

"It's true, Ma'am. Me and James were planning to come here to see him so that he wouldn't be alone, and to tell him we found out, but James got in trouble with Filch and got detention."

"Very well then, Mr. Black. If you would follow me to my office, I would like to have a word with you before we go to see Mr. Lupin. Thank-you for escorting him here Minerva." The other witch just waved away the thanks and left, while Poppy led the young boy into her office. Once inside, Poppy closed the door and cast a silencing charm on it before turning back to the boy in the centre of her office. "You wish to see Mr. Lupin about his Lycanthropy?"

"Er... If you mean that he's a werewolf, then yeah." Sirius replied, scratching the back of his neck.

"Yes Mr. Black, Lycanthropy is the technical term for the werewolf curse. Remus could be referred to as a Lycanthrope."

"Why does he get to be called by his first name and not me?" The boy whined, pouting at her.

"Because Remus is a frequent visitor of my Infirmary and asked me if I might call him that to make him more comfortable after his... Transformations."

"Are they really that bad?" Sirius whispered quietly, as if speaking the words any louder would suddenly make them less important. Poppy smiled sadly at the young man and motioned for him to follow her, which he did without hesitation. The two moved to a door on the far side of the room, and she put her hand on the handle before turning to face the young man. Once she had decided that he wasn't going to back away, she nodded to him and gave a short rap on the door.

"Come in." A hoarse raspy voice spoke up from the other side, and she caught a flicker of concern on Sirius's face from the corner of her eye.

Without any preamble, she slowly opened the door, revealing the private hospital room which house one Remus John Lupin, resident werewolf of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The boy was laying on his back in a hospital bed, under a single thin white sheet. The sheet had rolled down to his waist, revealing a completely bandaged torso, arms, and a couple of good gashes on his face. The bandages were not completely white, but stained slightly with blood. Normally Poppy would be able to heal wounds in an instant, but the wounds of a werewolf were cursed, and it was impossible for her to heal him completely. The best she could managed were pain-killing potions and blood-replenishing ones. His skin was so pale it was almost translucent, and dark black bags hung under exhausted amber eyes.

The instant Remus's eyes landed on Sirius, however, the exhaustion was covered by fear and surprise. It was obvious that he had not been expecting Poppy to bring any visitors with her. No one ever visited him. That was the way he had always wanted it, and that was the way it had always been. The fact that someone was visiting him now, especially if it was one of the Marauders, meant that they had figured out his secret. Which was frightening in itself, because Remus was completely certain that once they found out what he was, once they found out the truth about his monthly disappearances, they would cast him away and reveal his secret to the school, thus bringing in the Ministry and their execution views. He had known, right from the start of coming to Hogwarts, that he would most likely be executed if he made friends, because friends would find out, and friends would tell the Ministry. So when Sirius entered the room, and Poppy left and locked the door, Remus had no doubt in his mind that the time had finally come.

He was going to die.

His friend was going to tell the Ministry, and he was going to die. As frightened - though absolutely terrified came as a better description - as the young boy was about his inevitable fate, he managed a weak smile and sat up in his bed. The movement, however, was not exactly helpful to his healing wounds, and he screwed his eyes shut with a pained groan, arms wrapping protectively around his torso. A light hand on his shoulder made him flinch and open his eyes. Sirius stood beside him, looking for all the world like he was truly concerned. That confused Remus; Sirius knew, Poppy wouldn't have let him in unless he knew, and yet he looked concerned. It completely baffled the young boy who looked so small and frail in his hospital bed, wrapped up in bandages which were already tinting red, trembling like a leaf. Never in his life had Remus seen concern upon someone's face after they'd found out the truth about him. About the monster that he truly was.

An awkward silence seemed to descend over them, and Remus decided with an inaudible sigh that he might as well get it over with. Taking the idea of bluntness to a whole new level, he quietly cleared his throat and met Sirius's silver eyes.

"I'm a werewolf."

It was a slightly uplifting thing to find that his voice did not waver, nor did it come off as squeaky and scared. He sounded determined and resigned at the same time, and his gaze did not move from Sirius's glittering silver grey eyes. A short silence followed his declaration, which the two boys spent silently staring at each other.

"I know."

Sirius's voice was oddly gentle, and Remus could find no reason for it to be so. He was a monster, and a monster's feelings did not matter. They were irrelevant to the point of nonexistent to anyone who was not a monster. The mere idea that his friend - _ex-friend_ he reminded himself bitterly - had at least a little care for his feelings made him wonder slightly. Was the other boy doing this to honour the past year and a half they had spent as friends, or was he attempting to sooth his own fear at being locked in a room with a half-breed like Remus.

"When is he coming?"

Remus had intended for his blunt words to be clear; 'when is the executioner coming to execute me?' and yet a slight flicker of confusion could clearly be seen in Sirius's eyes, which made Remus frown slightly. He hadn't wanted to say it aloud, doing so would make it so much more real. Swallowing the unpleasant lump in his throat at the mere idea of doing such a thing, he pressed on, wanting to be prepared for his arrival.

"Well? You've told him haven't you? I'm surprised you didn't bring him with you; they tend to be very strict about these matters."

"Yeah, well, he got detention, didn't he?" Sirius asked, sounding faintly worried about his friend.

Remus's frown deepened, obviously Sirius was thicker than he had thought.

"I was talking about the executioner. Surely you've already informed the Ministry of my whereabouts and are just waiting for him to arrive."

"Why would an executioner come here?" The confusion had grown to completely fill his silver eyes, dulling them to gunmetal grey.

"To execute me. It's the law."

Remus was surprised to see absolute horror replace the confusion in his ex-friend's eyes. The next thing he knew, he was being wrapped in a firm yet gentle embrace by Sirius, surprised to find the other boy trembling slightly.

"You're not going to die Remmy, I won't let you." Sirius's eyes were locked onto Remus's with pure determination, and the werewolf couldn't help but wonder if the other boy truly meant it, if Sirius really hadn't contacted the Ministry. The mere thought made his heart leap and his head ache; no one had ever done something like that for him, and it was unbelievable that they would start now. Unable to believe his friend's words, Remus struggled out of the tender hug and stared at his ex-friend with pitying eyes.

"I don't see why you're so upset, I'm a monster after all."

His statement was met with a furious glare from Sirius and an even tighter hug than the one before. Remus was surprised to find himself trembling slightly, and leaning into the embrace. He supposed that if he had to die, it would be nice to feel such a loving moment before he passed. Of course, these thoughts came after he had moved closer, but that hardly mattered.

"You're not a monster. You aren't, and I won't let them hurt you." Sirius growled, holding the other boy close.

Remus shivered at the extremely protective note in his voice, and bit his lip. He wanted to believe Sirius, he really _really_ did, but he wasn't certain. Not yet. Leaning back in the embrace so that he could see those shining silver eyes, he nervously asked the one question he feared more than any other.

"You don't hate me?"

His voice was small and shaky and entirely different from his normal voice. Sirius just smiled and enfolded him in an even tighter hug.

"Never." He whispered softly to the werewolf. "Never."

And for the first time in his life, Remus believed it was the truth.

And he smiled, returning the hug.


End file.
